CRAIG THOMSON, if he were allowed to explain himself this week like the grown up he is, could quite easily justify the penalty and red card he awarded yesterday which sealed a cup final for Celtic they were probably going to win without any help.

After all, Motherwell defender Cedric Kipre did put his arm around Scott Sinclair, who got the wrong side of him, inside his own box and footballers will tell you – and this does stick in the throats of us old school types - that if they feel a touch then they are entitled to go down. And the officials tend to favour the attacking side in such circumstances.

In fact, this is exactly what Sinclair said within an hour after the game.

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The Frenchman was the last man and, therefore, even with the change in the rules a red card was probably, maybe, possibly the right decision.

But it just seemed dreadfully harsh on Kipre and his team. Sinclair was having a poor game which is perhaps why he went down instead of taking on a shot. He could (and should) have stayed on his feet.

However, here’s the thing.

The Englishman won his team a penalty in a cup final, which they scored through Moussa Dembele, and this meant Celtic lifted another trophy. He did his job. Let’s not get too high and mighty about it. Football is a tough, old business and such things happen all the time.

And Kipre was lucky to still be on the park. His early challenge on Dembele, the defender was both late and high on Celtic’s striker, was deserving in my view of a straight red card. Thomson didn’t even book him.

There is no such thing as karma and two wrongs don’t make a right, but there will be some who will see his later punishment as just.

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But even it was a penalty, the red card was excessive. It was hard not to feel for Motherwell and their fantastic support who would have left Hampden grumbling about Celtic getting everything their way – which does tend to happen to the big teams.

However, once the excellent James Forrest scored to make it 1-0, with the best will in the world there was only going to be one winner. At 2-0 and with Motherwell a man down, the only surprise was that Celtic didn’t score more.

If Forrest, deservedly man of the match, played in cup finals or a Champions League game every week, he would be a £30m player. The winger is having his best ever season and yesterday from his first touch to the moment he was substituted, coming off to a standing ovation, the 25-year-old was his team’s best player.

Just like he often is in the big matches, such as the recent game with Bayern Munich. This is one footballer for whom the stage cannot be grand enough.

It wasn’t a cup final for the ages; indeed, the first-half was largely forgettable so best we all forget about it. But Forrest’s performance was superb and worth of our recall. His pace, passing, crossing and finish, it was a goal the moment the ball left his left foot, were too much for even a well-drilled Motherwell team.

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As soon as the winger got on the ball, those wearing claret and amber took a step or three back. When in the mood, the Celtic man is a great watch.

Which is more than you could say about a first-half in which Motherwell’s tactics were spot-on, although the purists would not have been happy.

But what else was Stephen Robinson, the Motherwell manager, supposed to do? Celtic are better than his team, a lot better in fact, and therefore he had to find a way to nullify the threat and hope Louis Moult could produce something at the other end.

It worked. At least for a while. The problem being that the plan rather hinged on Celtic not scoring first and that was asking a lot.

And something that might have been forgotten about is Craig Gordon’s incredible save from Moult, who put in one hell of a shift, just four minutes after Forrest’s opener.

Motherwell needed a bounce of the ball at Hampden. They had to take any opportunity, glaring or otherwise, which came their way. It wasn’t to be their day.

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In saying that, Robinson’s men have nothing to apologise for. They gave their supporters a day out, nothing was left out on the pitch and there remains plenty to play for this season.

As for Celtic, who in all honesty is going to stop them from winning an unprecedented back-to-back treble? Rangers are mess, Aberdeen, as strong as they can be, seemed scared of Celtic and Hibernian are too flaky.

They were far from their best at Hampden, a few appeared leggy after chasing shadows and Neymar last Wednesday night, and yet they still won a cup final against a more than decent Premiership team.

Of course, one a one-off cup tie, cliché alert, anything can happen. But as things stand, unless PSG are parachuted into Scottish football than it’s another clean sweep and, who knows, perhaps a second unbeaten season.

Celtic may well be so much richer and therefore stronger than the rest, but this would still be a staggering achievement. The only chance the rest have is if Rodgers’s Invincibles can go on an extended run in the Europa League and the amount of games catches them out somewhere down the line.

Rodgers, however, won’t allow standards to slip. So, too, Scott Brown who in his own manner was outstanding as well. When Motherwell did get forward, it was the captain who was there to take care of any potential problems.

The records continue to tumble, the unbeaten domestic run is now 65 games and counting. The Champions League remains a challenge, but the Europa League could well provide some famous nights.

This Celtic team are relentless. I can’t see them getting bored of winning or becoming complacent. Not when history beckons.